The Price of a Mandate: Mapping the Racialized Reach of Intimate Partner Violence Policy in Arrest Outcomes for Women of Color

Background: Mandatory arrest (MA) policies for intimate partner violence (IPV) emerged from a broader carceral logic, introduced to promote survivor "safety" through removal of abusive partners. Decades later, these policies have fallen short of that promise: survivor and dual arrests are documented in the literature, including in states with MA laws. This disconnect between policy intent and practice is especially stark for women of color, who remain among the most disproportionately criminalized for surviving IPV through MA. To explore these disparities, this study examines racialized and gendered patterns in IPV arrest, with particular attention to differences in women’s arrest outcomes across MA states.

Methods: Data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System—a federal dataset tracking arrests annually by state—was used to construct a sample of individuals involved in domestic incidents where IPV arrest was possible (N=332,383). This analysis focuses on heterosexual women partnered with men; same-sex relationships are analyzed in a companion paper for more focused attention to heterosexism. Race was categorized as Black, non-Black person of color (NBPOC), or white. Black women were analyzed separately in recognition of the specific criminalization they face; NBPOC were grouped due to sample size constraints. Partner race was included, and interaction terms modeled the combined race and gender of both partners. Arrest policy was coded as mandatory, preferred, or discretionary. Models controlled for each partner’s race, gender, age, and the presence of a weapon.

Results: Compared to white women, Black women had 39% higher odds of IPV arrest (OR=1.39, 95%CI: 1.30–1.48, p<.001), and non-Black women of color had 43% higher odds (OR=1.43, 95%CI: 1.30–1.48, p<.001). Disparities were most pronounced in MA states, where odds of arrest were 42% higher (OR=1.42, 95%CI: 1.38–1.45, p<.001), and in preferred arrest states, where odds were 32% higher (OR=1.32, 95%CI: 1.28–1.36, p<.001). Women partnered with Black men had 43% lower odds of arrest (OR=0.57, 95%CI: 0.55–0.60, p<.001), while women partnered with non-Black men of color had 23% lower odds (OR=0.77, 95%CI: 0.68–0.87, p<.001). Black women partnered with Black men had an 18.5% additional reduction beyond separate race effects (OR=0.815, 95%CI: 0.754–0.882, p<.001); remaining interaction terms were not significant. Weapon presence more than doubled arrest odds (OR=2.22, 95%CI: 2.15–2.27, p<.001). Race of a woman’s partner and age for both individuals were also significantly associated with arrest.

Conclusion: These findings expose the deep racial inequities embedded in carceral responses to IPV, with women of color bearing the brunt of harmful arrest policies. That women partnered with men of color had lower arrest odds further points to how whiteness functions as a source of perceived credibility and power. Urgent shifts are needed toward non-carceral, survivor-centered alternatives that address the structural conditions shaping both violence and criminalization.